Police were amazed at their discovery during a routine check of vehicles on the road. Zing Shen, 42, was steering the vehicle with his feet and said he had been doing so for years.

It was reported that he was stunned when police officers issued him with a public safety summons.

The man told traffic police that ever since he lost his arms in an industrial accident several years ago, he had used his feet to steer his vehicle without difficulty. He has no arms from the elbows down.

His car was an automatic so he did not have to concern himself with changing gear.

A police spokesman in Beijing said: “The man said that he was a very safe driver and felt he was as good as anyone else on the road, despite his disability.

“He had an automatic so did not need to worry about changing gears and said he had put a lot of practice into learning to control the steering wheel with his legs.

“He said he was actually even more careful now with driving than he had been before he lost his arms. He was surprised when we arrested him.”